


From the Abyss

by ArtForRogue



Series: Pacific Rim AU: The Abyss Calls [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim, Anal Sex, Bottom Keith (Voltron), Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Drift Compatibility, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju (Pacific Rim), M/M, Mentions of PTSD, Minor Character Death, Movie: Pacific Rim (2013), POV Shiro (Voltron), Top Keith (Voltron), Top Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-10-24 18:00:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17709035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtForRogue/pseuds/ArtForRogue
Summary: Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane has been fighting Kaiju for three years. It was everything he hoped and dreamed; being the Pilot of Paragon Atlas meant he had fame, friends, and a damn good excuse to fight.When a new engineer by the name of Keith Kogane joins their crew, Shiro thinks nothing of it at first. But Keith is very handsome, and Shiro is very weak.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been working on this fic since November. I was tempted to post it before I finished, but I'm kind of terrible about abandoning works halfway through so I made sure to complete it before thinking about posting it up. 
> 
> So the fic is done! I'll be posting it in one-week intervals. A big, big shoutout to my betas @spaceboykenny and arkngthamz ya'll are the stars in my sky <3

Only humans would see a monster built of nightmares and decide they need monsters of their own to fight back.

‘Kaiju’ became a word akin to death. 

And they whispered ‘Jaeger’ with a reverence like that of some holy power.

These monsters from the Pacific -- they were unlike anything humanity had ever seen. No two were the same in shape, size, or deadly feat, but anything that bled could be killed. Clashes between the two forces were enough to leave blue blood guts  and metal plating washing to shore for months afterwards -- but for the time being, Jaegers stood victorious. So Jaegers hunted, protected, and were coined as heroes in turn for their bravery in the fight to save humanity.

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane was not the first to pilot a Jaeger and he would not be the last. 

But he was the first to pilot  _ Paragon Atlas.  _

A marvel of her time,  _ Paragon Atlas  _ was Alfor’s last gift to humanity before his untimely demise just five years past. As both a Jaeger pilot and an engineer, it was thanks to his work that the program was as far along as it was and that the world as a collective was working together. 

_ Paragon Atlas  _ was just that -- a symbol of victory and peace. When she started to collect dust following Alfor’s death and left the world feeling colder from her lack of a presence, Shiro was offered forth as the new pilot. 

He was best of his class, with a burning desire to prove himself and ready to use all means necessary in order to do so. 

The uppers were okay with putting Takashi “Ticking Time Bomb” Shirogane in  _ Atlas  _ and seeing if she came back. 

Shiro never allowed them a moment of regret since.

_ Good run.  _ The words crossed between them without Shiro having to physically speak -- the faint buzz of internal conversation always infuriated his partner, but Adam seemed surprisingly cool-headed today. They loomed over the corpse of a Kaiju, freshly slaughtered; the mood was good because they won. 

Their Jaeger raised her left leg to toe at the mawled face of the Category II they had just ripped apart. The corpse remained still. 

For three years they have been killing Kaiju -- three years they had stood side by side, never knowing if today would be their last. The idea had once been exhilarating enough to keep Shiro from asking any other questions about their end-game but today it dragged heavy through his mind.

Adam was quick to catch onto the thread, but he also knew better than to prod for answers. If there was anything to be said it would have already been laid bare between them.  _ Category II was real ugly. And did it really need three tails?  _

That finally got a laugh from Adam. He shot Shiro a fond smile and turned back to their task at hand -- getting their Jaeger home in one piece. Helicopters circled them like flies and it took everything in Shiro’s mind not to swat them away like the bothers they were. In this case, it was good that the Category II had managed to leave their left arm dangling useless. _Atlas_ wasn’t looking picture-pretty like she normally did, and Shiro knew exactly who he was going to get an earful from for it. 

Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt was five feet tall, dusty-blonde, and had glasses as thick as old-timey soda bottles, but she was in charge of _Paragon_ Atlas and let absolutely no one forget it. Just like the Kaiju, Shiro didn’t want to get on her bad side unless he had a shield between them. Unfortunately, today was not his day. 

“--and just  _ look at the arm,  _ Shiro, that’s going to take  _ ages to  _ recalibrate! Couldn’t you have let it rip off some of the shielding on the side? Even the outer cannons--” Pidge threw up her hands in dismay and finally stalked away from Shiro in favor of giving her baby another look over. 

That rage was going to age her faster than any 22 year-old deserved, but as her senior Shiro really had no place to judge.

Shiro had been dragged from  _ Atlas  _ and cleared for dismount for all of five minutes before Pidge was hailing him down to the deck for a thorough ripping. There had been time for him to shed the shell of the drivesuit and not much else. Shiro plucked at the skin-tight mesh of the underarmor and wished for maybe the fourth time that he had managed to wiggle into his civilian clothes. 

Not that Shiro had anything to be ashamed of. 

It was the principal of the matter, was all. 

From the other side of the room, Hunk, the other head engineer, sidelined up to Shiro and gave his bicep a reassuring pat. If Pidge was the spice, Hunk was the savory, with his big doe-eyes and gentle smile. Shiro immediately felt at ease under his touch and relented, hearing Hunk say, “She won’t say it, but we were worried about you two. That was one nasty son-of-a-gun Kaiju. Thought maybe it was gonna get more than just your arm.” 

Said right arm twitched angrily under Hunk’s palm at the memory of having the nerves ripped out. Sometimes it was too hard to distinguish the difference between what was happening in the mech and what his real body was going through. Shiro gave a small nod to Hunk and let the words wash over him. This wasn’t  _ Atlas’  _ first brush with trouble, but the level of danger was multiplying with each new battle. “Every time I think I’ve seen it all, the Breach finds humor in spitting out some new fancy abomination.”

The remainder could go unsaid. Everyone knew the Kaiju would continue to come so long as the Breach remained open and while the world’s council argued over the best course of action, they would continue to send out monsters of their own to fight back.

At least they were winning. For now. 

While the mechanics scrambled to follow Pidge’s directions, Shiro took to walking with Hunk back to the inner lab for their statistical run-down. 

“Adam get pretty roughed up?” Hunk asked lightly. Shiro had noticed his co-pilot walking in the opposite direction, too. 

“You know how he is. Leaves nothing to chance.” After a moment’s hesitation, Shiro made sure to add, “I’ll make sure he gets the stats later.” 

The machine between them whirred to life and spat out said stats on a long, winding piece of paper that Hunk grasped with practiced ease. They both watched the numbers’ ebb and flow, spelling out each err and victory and oversight in the battle, numbers that Shiro had seen nearly a hundred times before that it no longer provided the old rush of pride. He was still content to watch the digits but a strange feeling nagged at Shiro until his eyes drifted to the surrounding desks.

There was an inexplicable change to the lab that held Shiro’s attention for the moment -- he had almost grasped the difference by the time Hunk remembered to comment on it. “Oh, right, right, I forgot to tell you. Finally got the OK from the higher ups to get some more help on the team. New guy’s down on the deck.”

“Glad to hear you’re getting another pair of hands.” Pidge and Hunk were a force on their own, but even their combined genius had a hard time handling two different Jaegers at once. Repairs were often massive and ugly, with the added danger that any misstep could mean the death of said Jaeger and her pilots. Shiro wished he could have pulled some strings to help his behind-the-scenes crew, but even he was powerless when it came to dividing up the budget. 

Shiro gave Hunk his best supportive smile. “Do I know him?” 

He was answered with a slight shrug, nearing the end of the stats. “I know they have you travel around to the other bases, but I don’t remember you ever hitting the Korean one…?” 

“Ah, probably not then. Well, if you all trust him, then I trust him. Though...Korea? How did we manage that?” 

“Needed a change of scenery.” A voice answered from behind Shiro, low and even. The sound of footsteps hadn’t even registered and Shiro found himself spinning on his heel to tag the new voice. It belonged to someone he didn’t recognize -- must be the new recruit. He gave Shiro a lazy one-over with stunning violet eyes and turned away, already bored. “Stars are brighter out here too.” 

“He also owes me  _ big time. _ ” Pidge called from below deck, making the stranger’s lips tug up into a brazen smile. There was probably a story or two behind that, but Shiro was being pushed forward with his hand extended, a firm hand on his back directed by Hunk. 

Keith, Shiro. Shiro, Keith. Pleasantries never felt so awkward. Shiro had to actively fight to keep his grip unwavering as they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Keith. I look forward to working with you in the future.” 

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say -- Keith’s smile soured into a firm frown. Shiro faltered only until Keith muttered, “You left me one hell of a job on my first day.” 

“More time to see  _ Paragon Atlas _ close and personal.” Hunk said. “And what a beauty she is, Keith, you’re gonna love her. Give me just a tic, though, have to get the rest of these statistics to the uppers.” The sheet was now at least three feet long, and curling in Hunk’s hands like a wire spring. 

Shiro was used to a companionable silence, but he felt bad for the new guy having to wait so he offered up a small alternative. 

“So, do you know Katie from her engineering work or from her life of crime?” 

Keith chuckled at that, tilting his head so that his dark bangs brushed out of his eyes. He easily had the softest-looking hair Shiro had ever seen, a bit too long and all bunched up at the base of his neck and inky black. “A little of both. The three of us met at the last annual convention and might’ve had a bit too much of the free wine.” 

“Might’ve.” Hunk echoed, ominous-sounding. There was the distinct impression there was no approximation about how much alcohol had been in their systems. 

“Hunk and Pidge make for a deadly combo.” Shiro agreed after a moment.

“We snuck into storage and soaked all the suits in champagne. So the newest models, brought out for all the coalition to see, had massive puddles of bubbling alcohol trailing them.” Oh, hell, that’s why Shiro’s new suit had been on backorder for two months? He bit back a laugh as Keith rolled his eyes. “It was fun, but Iverson went for our throats. Would have been worse if Hunk and Pidge didn’t already have a reputation.”

Ah, Shiro saw where this was going. “Which she’s been holding over you since.” 

“Lovingly.” Keith faltered, shot Shiro another unsure smile. “I think.”

If Katie went this far to grab Keith for her team, that meant he was something worth fighting for. As casually as he could, Shiro gave Keith another once-over. He was maybe a few years younger than Shiro, a bit shorter, but with a frame that indicated he was hard-working to a fault. The racing jacket made Shiro think Keith owned the cherry-red hoverbike Shiro had spotted in the garage that morning -- parked next to his own dark beauty. 

Keith wasn’t wearing the Garrison-approved uniform yet, and Shiro was grateful for the moment as Keith’s jeans were frayed at the knees and skin-tight. 

When he brought his eyes back up, Shiro noticed with a start that Keith was doing the same damn thing. Shiro could only imagine what he thought of his underarmor suit and the scars that peeked through. 

He wasn’t so vain to take Keith’s quirked eyebrow as approval.

“Done!” Hunk broke the tension by shoving a copy of the stats into Shiro’s hands. “Here you are, Shiro. I’ll get the other to the uppers, so go on up and get some rest, OK? Good run today.”

“Thanks.” The ugly erroneous red marks on the roll of paper grew by the drop, and Shiro was momentarily pulled from his preening to feel his stomach clench at the sight. 

By the time Keith and Hunk had settled down on the new deck, Pidge had forgiven Shiro enough to call him over. He was already late to dinner, but he wasn’t looking forward to another argument with Adam so this proved a welcome distraction. 

Pidge opened up the metal shutters and indicated her head down to the deck. Mechanics had been working on  _ Atlas  _ since she hit the base, but Hunk was re-dividing up resources so Keith would get his own share of the team. Shiro took a curious peek before turning back to Pidge, gaze questioning. 

She never made anyone wait long. “Keith’s work over in Korea is unparalleled, Shiro. If anyone can get her back up and purring, it’ll be him.” 

“You two have always done perfectly fine by  _ Atlas. _ ” Shiro said, still puzzled. Not that he minded the addition, but he was curious for Pidge’s reasoning.

“Hunk and I have only worked on tech that’ve been around already -- Keith’s led teams on design and creation of brand new Jaegers.” The news was staggering, but Pidge continued before Shiro could even stammer out anything. “You should ask him about it sometime.”

It would be the polite thing to do. “Of course.” 

“He’s never piloted a Jaeger before, though. Still, he’s always been interested in the simulations. You should broach that with him, too. For science reasons.”

This was growing to be too suspicious. Shiros’ eyes narrowed down at Pidge’s innocent smile. “You all already got the approval for him to work here. You don’t have to … to  _ sell  _ me on the idea of him being part of the team.” 

“Oh, well that’s because that’s not what I was doing.” Yep. Pidge was definitely playing him. 

“Adam and I are still working together, Pidge.” 

Her expression shifted to boredom. “Yeah, and we’ve seen how good your Drift Compatibility still is.” 

That was a sore spot with Shiro, and a low blow even for Pidge. He struggled to keep his features carefully neutral before it all crashed around him. It was no secret around the base that he and Adam had ended things between them a few months back -- not that it changed much in the long run. As partners piloting  _ Atlas,  _ they still had to spend near every moment together eating, training, relaxing, to maintain their link. 

Shiro wasn’t sure what changed between them, but it was suddenly too much to keep going. The break had been mutual. It was still strained, but they had been friends prior to starting a romantic relationship and it wasn’t so hard to revert back. Adam had his new crush and Shiro got a fresh reminder of that fact every time they stepped into  _ Atlas  _ and synced together. 

“I’m nowhere near in the mindset to even start thinking of something like that.” The words tumbled from him, uncertain. Pidge gave Shiro a pitying look but thankfully dropped the subject. They reviewed the repairs for  _ Atlas  _ until the last bed toll and Shiro forgot all about it.


	2. 2

When Shiro next had the chance, he did as Pidge suggested and asked Keith about his draw-ups for new Jaegers. The designs were hesitantly handed over, but once Shiro had hold of the blueprints he couldn’t understand why Keith seemed like he was bracing for impact. The designs were sharp, cutting-edge, and Shiro had no problem gaping at Keith and informing him of such. 

Keith squirmed under the attention and averted his gaze. Shiro recognized the body language he was throwing out, too -- arms crossed, stance wide, head tilted just so -- and bit back a smile. Someone didn’t know how to take a compliment. Shiro could see him calculating a list of flaws as the seconds dragged on. “It’s….a work in progress.” Keith finally shrugged. 

“Have any of them made it to the field?” 

Keith gave another shrug, but this time he managed to meet Shiro’s gaze. “Just the small ones. They use them for cleanup on the husks or damage control.”

Nothing about the sleek black design under Shiro’s fingers screamed ‘cleanup duty’. This one was lovingly crafted for war. “The schematics kind of reminds me of Alfor’s work.” He took his forefinger and dragged it across the tell-tale cat-like features of the face and down to the clawed hands.

“Because it is. We collaborated on that one before he passed. He wasn’t in Korea for very long -- literally got thrown into the base, but,” Keith bit his lip, “I wish he could have seen the final product, even if it never makes it to actual Jaeger status.” 

Not that Shiro doubted Keith before, but holy shit. Alfor didn’t throw around his groundbreaking designs on any starry-eyed intern. Shiro took another hard look and saw where Alfor had scratched out weak points in the armor, suggesting substitutes in his careful handwriting. 

“She looks like a smooth ride. I’d love to pilot her someday.” Shiro gave Keith an uncertain smile, wondering if that was the right thing to say, and was rewarded with a gentle smile in return. 

“It’d be my honor.” 

There was more to say and even more to do, but Shiro found himself glued to Keith’s side as they went over more and more blueprints for near two hours. It was only when Hunk found them squirreled away that they remembered there was more to do than drool over giant robots. 

Shiro’s good mood was enough to carry him through training with Adam, and it wasn’t long before meeting with Keith became routine.

Shiro couldn’t remember when he last looked forward to time outside his Jaeger, but Keith managed to drag it from him with a startling ease. 

When he initially joined the Garrison, there was so much for him to prove that often days would pass without him speaking once of topics outside of Jaegers and Kaiju. Adam was of the same mindset, so they spent morning, afternoon, and evening together working to perfect their output. 

Shiro wasn't sure when that softened to something more humane, but it did -- even if the others sometimes had to remind him that his breaks were meant for something other than more work. 

Everything was still shadowed by the knowledge that any mistake meant death for him and for Adam, as well as civilians caught in the crossfire. Time spent outside _ Atlas _ felt like a betrayal. 

Keith changed that, piece by piece. 

It started with early-morning coffee talks about  _ Paragon Atlas  _ and her sister Jaegers -- the subjects ranging from brutal fights to the advantages/disadvantages of the individual differences -- and somehow ended with the two of them crouched in the shadows laughing about shitty drama on the base. 

He changed it enough that when Pidge invited Shiro to Monsters & Mana night, he actually said yes, answered with a smile, and promised to bring a twelve-pack of beer bought with his own measly coin. Little did he know the weekly tradition was being abridged to include a thorough and brutal hazing for their first newcomer in ages, Keith. 

Pidge and Hunk’s devious expressions fell when Keith whipped out his own M&M card and settled in for the fight. 

“You’re seriously a  _ healer  _ named  _ Thunderstorm Darkness. _ ” Pidge voiced everyone’s quiet disbelief as Keith pressed his forefinger to the glass slate and shuffled through his items.

“Uh, yeah? It’s a cool name.” No one in the room dared back up Keith’s claim, so he grumbled, quieter, “Won't be complaining when I raise you from the dead…” 

Finding out that Keith was already a veteran M&M player threw only a minimal wrench into the crew’s hazing plan. Their Lore Master Coran managed to work a drinking game into the story and by the end of it all, everyone looked a little green. 

They separated to puke on their own terms, but not before welcoming Keith to their little family.

Through their friendship, Shiro was starting to learn more about the Jaegers, too. Things that he never knew were possible. Link capabilities averaged at 90-100%, but they were actually able to go as far as 200%. “Most of those only happen with blood relatives or married folk, though.” Keith explained with a shrug, maybe to try and save Shiro’s feelings. “You can get the job done with the 100% threshold, so it’s never worth mentioning at training.” 

“Does a higher threshold change anything, though?” Shiro had to admit he was curious. He always thought Adam and he flowed perfectly at 100%, but maybe there was even more they could have done before the split. 

“The pilots were always meant to simulate the two halves of the brain and, even despite our best efforts, the Jaegers still move like it — like a simulation and not like one brain working.” Keith paused to take a sip of his coffee, eyes downcast like he was scared to say more. “Complete mind-meld sometimes results in the Jaeger shifting form. New weapons, new abilities, unbelievable reaction times.”

An example immediately jumped to Shiro’s mind -- he rushed forward, black forelock flopping against his forehead. “Alfor and Zarkon’s  _ Brave Lion?”  _

Bingo. Keith rewarded him with a smile and a nod. “We have  _ never  _ been able to replicate those wings.” 

The notion of it stole the breath from Shiro’s lungs. He couldn’t imagine what kind of connection would be necessary to shift metal into something living, breathing, and ready to put up a fight. His fingers brushed back against the railing and he leaned into it, looking Keith over from across the small gap he had created. Had they been standing so close? Keith’s eyes flicked up with uncertainty before he took his own cautious step back...oh. 

The cold steel of the railing was welcome against the sudden rush of heat through Shiro, but not enough. He was certain that his cheeks were stained an embarrassing pink. There was only a slight possibility that the flickering fluorescent lights hid his sudden awareness -- was only a slight possibility that they hid Keith’s answering blush. Neither of them touched on it, though, so they lapsed back into easy conversation. 

Work once more separated them, this time for an active Kaiju call.  _ Paragon Atlas  _ hit the waters outside the city lights of San Juanico, joined by her sister Jaeger  _ Halcon Corazon _ from the Mexican base buried in the heart of the land. The small city seemed a odd target, but Kaijus’ marks never made sense so why would today be the first?

There was a tropic storm battering them all the while -- winds up to 90 mph, debris containing everything but the kitchen sink -- still,  _ Atlas  _ made her way to the Category II with  killing intent. It was small, fast, and ugly as sin. As far as an unholy mix of hammerhead and bat went, it was likely the ugly step-sister. It had already been ripped into by the storm but like all Kaiju, nothing less trivial than a sword to the brain would convince a Kaiju to stop in its single-minded track to destruction.

_ Halcon  _ welcomed the Kaiju to the coast by digging her fists into the shell plating and tearing out a chunk of the beast’s flesh. It screamed, attention caught, and lunged forward.  _ Atlas  _ was there to slug it across the open wound, producing another ear-piercing cry. 

It was small, confused, and weaker than most. The Kaiju was reduced to a corpse in mere minutes.  _ Atlas  _ and  _ Halcon  _ grasped mecha hands in comradery and goodwill before they were dragged home. As far as battles went, Shiro didn’t think he would be able to place it if asked in an interview. 53 drops, 53 kills, and this little beast had nothing special to it. 

His welcome home was something he would never forget. 

It would be nothing to return to praise from his commanding officers, his peers, or anyone else living on the base. It was another thing entirely to see Keith’s scowl. 

At first Shiro thought it was from something unrelated -- he wiped at his brow again and fixed Keith with his best smile but the expression didn’t waver. Fingers dug into his air-tight suit, and before Shiro knew it, his face was deathly close to Keith’s. 

“That was  _ sloppy. _ ” Keith grit out. “You underestimated it.” 

Shiro startled back just a touch, but Keith’s firm grip kept him from going far. “Uh?” 

There had already been a crowd at the ready when Shiro and Adam first disembarked, but now all eyes were trained on the two of them. Keith seemed to finally read the mood of the room and loosened his hold. Small creases sat in Shiro’s suit where Keith’s hands had been and would probably remain there until Shiro peeled himself free. “You could have finished it in less time.” 

Not at the link Adam and Shiro were pulling. No one mentioned it. 

“And how were we supposed to do that?” Adam volunteered, since no one else wanted to ask the impossible. 

“At the two-minute mark -- there was an opening in the neck where you should have used your sword instead of a flat punch.” Keith’s purple gaze darted to Adam and back to Shiro. “You tried to unlock the blade, didn’t you?” 

Shiro grabbed up at Adam before he could lunge forward. They shuffled for just a moment, the threat of the crowd enough to keep Adam from laying his own fist across the engineer’s scowl. To insinuate that the Jaeger failed a command -- Keith was doing more than just calling out the tech. 

Adam finally stopped resisting and shoved out of Shiro’s arms. He stormed off, and though Shiro knew he was supposed to follow, he didn’t feel inclined. The words were out in the open now, and making a bigger scene would just fuel the drama. 

Those remaining in the crowd hurried away as Shiro swept his steel-gray gaze across in warning. Keith stood rooted in his spot, turning the other cheek when Shiro rested his disappointment at his feet. “Keith…” 

“Your link numbers are abysmal.” 

Anger flashed through Shiro, unprompted. “That’s for us to figure out. You didn’t have to --” 

“That connection is going to kill you in the field!” Keith snarled. He grabbed at Shiro’s arms again and  _ pushed  _ this time, knocking them back into the loading dock’s railing. A hiss of pain escaped from Shiro, but it did not deter Keith. Shiro would have admired his passion if it weren’t for the sharp sting of metal biting into his hips. 

“Listen to me!” Shiro worked for his own grip on Keith and faltered. Even his superiors said nothing as his numbers dropped week by week -- they did well enough to get by and killed Kaiju. Whatever hangups there were, it was between Shiro and Adam to decide. 

But that wasn’t good enough for Keith.

Settling for subpar would  _ never _ be good enough for Keith. God, how had he been so blind? 

“I’m sorry.” Shiro finally managed to wheeze out. 

The words looked like they might set off Keith again, and Shiro wondered for a moment just how close he would crush them together, but Keith bit back his retort and instead snorted with disbelief, “I _ don’t  _ lose anyone to Kaiju, anymore.”

“You won’t lose me, Keith.” 

“Good.” 

It took Shiro a handful of minutes to recover by the time Keith pulled away and walked back to his own bunker. He stared at the air before him, somehow devoid of Keith’s smothering passion, and ran a hand through the short-buzz of his undercut to ground himself. 


	3. 3

The next week made for the return of the  _ Blue Shot _ , which sent the entire base into a frenzy. That particular Jaeger had been on tour with a select few others to raise awareness and morale across the globe – so far as Shiro knew, the campaign had gone fairly well. Not that he ever doubted it; Lance and Allura both had enough charisma and intelligence to charm any one person. Well. To a certain extent. 

Keith was playing nice, but Shiro couldn’t help his wide-eyed stare as he brushed off every joke and smooth line Lance threw his way. Lunch was supposed to be Keith, Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk, but the latter two hardly ever ate in the cafeteria so it almost always boiled down to just Keith-Shiro time. 

Today, however, they were joined by the freshly-returned Allura Alfor and Lance McClain. 

As soon as his ass hit the seat, Lance made it his personal goal to grill Keith into submission. Keith wasn’t having it. He dragged his curious gaze to Shiro across the way before flicking his empty fork in Lance’s direction. “I’m trying to eat my lunch with Shiro. Can you bother literally anyone else?” 

Shiro wasn’t sure what to make of the possessive tilt to Keith’s voice, but he was saved from sputtering when Lance bit back, “Well so far as I see, you’re the only non-pilot sitting at the  _ Pilot Table _ . So.”

“Lance.” Allura’s warning tone had Lance reeling back in an instant, shooting his wife a fond look. “I know we only just returned, but there’s no need to take that out on our friends.” 

“Keith ain’t a friend.” Lance said. “Yet.”  He quirked an eyebrow at Shiro, asking something silently. 

Oh hell no. Shiro hid his answer by taking another sip of his juice pouch, but Allura’s eyebrows were raised in question too. Nope, nope, nope. 

Drama drew attention at the base like sharks to blood, and Shiro liked Keith a little bit too much to put him through that.

Not that he _liked_ liked Keith.

They were friends.

Good friends.

Friends that spent near every moment they could together, making each other laugh or smile through inside jokes that had, again, been born through them spending an obscene amount of time together. 

Shiro was pretty sure there was already a betting pool going around on when they would finally make things official. 

But Keith had never indicated any interest in dating whenever Shiro asked him about single people around the base, never mentioned a special someone lingering in the shadows, so Shiro was content to leave things as they were.

Which Lance was currently spoiling. Right.

“Be nice, Lance.” Shiro used his best commanding voice and near melted at the resulting smile from Keith that it earned him. 

As Lance grumbled out his accusations of favoritism, Keith turned to Allura for refuge. “I, uh…Your father, Alfor, was a good man.” He cracked out an awkward smile, and continued only when Allura smiled in return. 

“And I’ve seen your piloting too. That fight with Oyuuki was…” Keith spread his hands in reverence. “You  _ threw  _ it like it was nothing.” 

“Skipped like a rock.” Lanced laughed. He had recovered quickly enough. “What’d we get, three bounces?” 

“Four, as I recall.” Allura laughed as well. At the encouragement of her peers, she stood from the table and imitated the throw and subsequent bounce with a few exaggerated gestures. 

They exchanged all of two stories before Lance was finally laughing at a joke from Keith and the table settled into a comfortable understanding. Shiro stole a grape from Keith’s tray, content to listen for now, smiling along as Keith championed his most recent drop. 

Lance waved his own fork around, splattering spaghetti across the white linoleum as he declared, “Good to see our Garrison Golden Boy is still at it. Thought I was gonna have to come back and teach Adam a lesson or two about breaking hearts.” 

“Oh, my savior.” It was Shiro’s turn to laugh. “I’m not out there flinging Kaiju like skipping stones, but I do try my best.” 

Allura perked up at that. “I did notice your fighting style has changed a tic, Shiro. Has Central Command offered you new tutors?” Central Command was liable to offer up anything that would keep the pilots sharp and ready to fight. Shiro already knew all the training manuals inside and out, but there was always something new out there. 

She wasn’t the first to notice, and Shiro hardly doubted she would be the last. Because now  _ Paragon Atlas  _ would grapple, trip, and fight down and dirty. No self-righteous tutor would teach Shiro to clench his fists together and aim for the windpipe, or to claw into the skull of a Kaiju until its eyes popped and the brain was pierced. 

Adam wasn’t a fan. But they both liked living another day, so that’s where it was left. 

“I’ve been sparring with Keith of late.” Mostly because Keith mentioned that Adam and Shiro fought like they had learned everything by the book. Shiro was inclined to agree, and even though he still had the upper hand in practice, power, and height, getting pinned by Keith multiple times sparked both a competitive feeling and one he wasn’t allowed to name. 

“Wait, aren’t you an engineer? How the heck are you teaching Shiro  _ anything _ ?” 

Keith mulled over Lance’s indignant squawk for a moment longer than necessary, using his own lunch as an excuse to make Lance wait. “Mmm…I was going to be a pilot. Applied and everything. Got into the program then immediately flunked out – apparently I have an ‘issue with authority’.”

He shrugged, continuing, “Engineers yell less and let you do more. It was an easy choice. Doesn’t mean I didn’t get through enough training not to learn a thing or two.” 

All of the sparring Shiro had gone through with Keith at the point of time was rough, scrappy, and definitely learned in real-time scuffles. He bit back a snort of laughter and slid his gaze to Keith. Purple met gray and they shared in their secret for a moment longer. 

“Golden Boy here still kicks my ass nine out of ten times.” Keith nudged Shiro with his shoulder. 

“He fights Kaiju,” Lance flapped his hands at Shiro in disbelief, “for a living!” 

“Keith is  _ real scary _ when he hits the floor.” Shiro snorted. He only had a few seconds to recoil when Keith moved to grapple him. They burst into laughter as a group; Allura standing and reaching over to break the two up, Lance sliding their trays away from the chaos, Shiro and Keith becoming a tangle of limbs.

Their food was lost to their new graveyard on the table and Shiro felt the back of neck burn with all the attention focused on them, but it was worth it to get Keith in a headlock and make him wheeze for mercy. A hand pounded insistently on his arm, but Shiro knew he wasn’t holding tight enough to hurt, so he kept Keith locked against his chest for a moment longer.

“Takashi?” 

Adam’s voice killed Shiro’s good mood instantly. He released his chokehold but found Keith was content to stay where he was, leaning against Shiro’s broad chest and halfway into his lap. “Hey, Adam.” 

Everyone sat to attention, attempting to be polite, but Adam’s tight frown threw out any chances of them falling back to giggles. “…are we still meeting later to go over the convention?” 

Shiro gave a short nod in affirmation, and Adam left. Keith finally peeled himself from Shiro’s embrace and situated himself back at the table, prim and proper. They all eyed the mess on the linoleum before attempting to clean what they could.. 

“Adam seems well.” Points to Allura for trying to break the tension. Shiro eased out a sigh. 

“I’m sure he would love to hear about your trip?” It was a question because Adam hadn’t bothered to stick around, or even give a brief hello just moments later. Allura managed to keep a brave face, but Lance winced with the indignity. 

Keith took a brief assessment of their drawn-out expressions and asked, “Why doesn’t he want to eat with us?” 

“Duh.” Lance to the rescue. “Adam’s got new fish to fry.” 

Another glance over confirmed that Adam was indeed sitting with his newest prospect. They all gave solemn nods of understanding but at least for Shiro there was no longer a pang of muted jealousy. 

“Well, whatever. It’s about that time anyway.” Lance gave Allura a small nod and went to grab her tray. She gave him a small wiggle of her fingers in thanks and turned back to Shiro for the last word. 

“It was good catching up with you, Shiro. And it was nice to meet you, Keith. I would like to talk more about your experiences with my father, if you ever have the chance.” Promises made and farewells said, Shiro and Keith were once again left to their own devices. 

Shiro was the first to move from the table but Keith wasn’t far behind. It was back to  _ Paragon Atlas _ ’ dock for the both of them – Keith had to review some last-minute repairs and Shiro had it in mind to collect information on the upcoming conference. His distaste must have shown, because Keith dragged him away just as they hit the deck.

“Where are we going?” It wasn’t the first time Keith had stolen him away for a few extra minutes, but it still made Shiro chuckle all the same. He tightened his grip on Keith’s gloved hand and matched his stride so they could walk hip-to-hip through the crowded hallway.

“I want to show you something.” Keith glanced up and gave Shiro an inquisitive look. “Can this stay between us?”

“Of course.” 

They reached the end of the hallway and took a sharp right. Keith nudged open the last available door with his foot and ushered Shiro inside with an expectant smile. Once they were situated in the tiny workspace, Keith flicked the switch. 

Lights blinked on one-by-one, revealing the  _ Black Lion  _ prototype.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter! The next chapter is....meatier >:3c


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Meant to post this last night but I was sleepy AF. Enjoy!
> 
> *hey uh that M rating gets used this chapter as a headsup*

The lights were on when Shiro arrived – probably had been since the crack of dawn. He nudged open the door with his foot and gave a tentative shout, saying, “Coffee’s here.” 

A hand came out from under the mech, lazily moving around until Shiro stepped forward and carefully handed over the thermos. The hand disappeared again, this time with a soft ‘thanks’ echoing out. Shiro took the moment to sip his own thermos and give the  _ Black Lion  _ a once-over. She was near 10-feet tall, sleek, black, and built for war. There were blue strips of light framing her maw and limbs, with an exposed core that burned a heated bright crimson. 

As it was, the aesthetic was appreciated here but no Kaiju was going to balk at the intimidation factor. But there were still panels missing, parts that needed welding… the  _ Black Lion  _ still had a ways to go. Ever since the prototype had become public knowledge at the base Keith was giving her every spare moment of his time – had been, for the last two months – and though Shiro knew he didn’t have a right to be jealous of a hunk of metal, he was. 

Kaiju were coming more frequently as of late. Shiro wondered if Keith even noticed his absences. 

The last drop had been especially precarious, and the quiet intimacy of the workshop was what Shiro really craved at the moment so he let his eyes trail from the maw of the  _ Black Lion  _ to the pair of legs wiggling underneath, smiling at the occasional curse that he heard. “Need some help down there?” 

A few seconds passed, and the wiggling legs curled up so that Keith could scoot himself out enough to glare at Shiro. Oil specks spotted here and there on his pale skin, with streaks of grime connecting them like a sky full of constellations. He looked a mess -- especially with that haphazard ponytail -- but Shiro still wanted to drag him from the ground and pull him into a hug. The glare aimed at his direction did not dissipate, so Shiro settled for shooting him a shit-eating grin in return.

“You,” Keith heaved himself up to his feet, “will do more harm than help.” 

“Aw. Don’t be mean to the messenger.” Shiro moved to swipe at the shirt tied around Keith’s waist, but the other man smacked his hand away. He replaced his thermos – now empty – with the stack of blueprints lining the nearby desk and gave a thoughtful hum. Shiro caught him halfway and perched his chin on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith was right. He knew how to move a Jaeger, but building one was a whole different language. 

“On second thought, I’ll leave the Jaeger-building to you.” 

Shiro pressed his cheek deeper into Keith’s shoulder and sighed. He knew for a fact that Keith had been awake and working for multiple hours already, but it still felt dreadfully early in the morning and that was coming from a self-proclaimed morning person. Keith just chuckled and reached back to scratch Shiro’s buzzcut. “Sleepy?” 

“I am trying to motivate myself to go back to training…” Dropping off the thermos for Keith was supposed to just be a quick stop. Yet here he was, arms wrapped around his waist and nose-deep in the sweaty smell of his shirt. Keith’s soothing hand moved in circles against his scalp, asking for nothing but leaving everything open to what Shiro needed. They stayed quiet a moment more – Keith looking over blueprints, Shiro nodding off – until a tentative knock on the door pulled them apart. 

One of the engineers poked her head in. She gave both men a shy smile, but turned the full brunt of her attention on Keith. “I have the reports on  _ Blue  _ you wanted. Pidge and Hunk also told me to tell you the review has been bumped down to 10.” Keith took the folder she held out and gave it a quick skim over. 

Her eyes trailed to the  _ Black Lion  _ for a moment and she gave it the laziest look-over Shiro had ever seen. It had been awhile since he last saw such a one-track mind. It was laughable. “She’s beautiful. Coming along quite well.”

“Thanks.” Keith didn’t even look up from the files. 

Shiro watched her dejected walk out and nearly shook Keith for her sake. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m just skimming the report for a second.” Keith said, eyes flicking up to Shiro.

“Not that.” Shiro motioned to where the woman had just exited. “ _ Her.”  _ Keith still looked lost and Shiro hated to have to explain this kind of thing, but someone had to intervene or this would just get ugly. “She’s volunteered to bring you those reports the last three days in a row and complemented something about you or your work each time.  She’s obviously interested.” 

“Oh.” 

“Oh?” 

Keith gave a disinterested shrug. “I’m not interested.” The casual tone of it made Shiro believe that not only was Keith not interested, he never would be. Maybe the hesitance from Shiro prompted Keith to continue, because he next said, “She’s not my type.” 

“I would have never pegged you as someone with a type.” 

Keith winced. Maybe that was the wrong thing to say. 

Backpedalling as quickly as he could, Shiro breathed out, “You don’t have to – we can talk about something else. I was just surprised.” 

“No, no,” Keith crossed his arms and rubbed his knuckles absentmindedly. “I uh…I just never know how to put it. People are just….people, until I get to know them. And then sometimes, I think, that my life would really be different without them. I realize that what I feel isn’t what some would call just ‘friendship’. That I want more. It’s not – it’s not immediate with me. Not that I don’t have…” Shiro watched Keith grow increasingly tense with each word and huffed out a laugh. Keith immediately clamped up, only to shoot Shiro an indignant glare. “You asked…”

“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do.” Shiro motioned to Keith’s tense frame. “Like you’re expecting me to ridicule you for how you feel.” 

“Labels are easier to understand.” 

“Sometimes.” Shiro paused. “But it’s not a requirement.”

A bit of the tension bled from Keith, but he still leaned his hip against the desk, arms crossed, gaze flickering everywhere but Shiro’s eyes. “You’re a gay man.” 

“Yeah.” That was common knowledge worldwide by this point. The world was fighting giant aliens, but there was always time for shallow prejudice. Shiro was more than happy to be a role model for the kids he saved and the adults that never had a public figure to admire. 

“Do you…have a type?” 

The nervousness of Keith’s tone nearly made Shiro laugh again -- because of the blatant absurdity and the fact that they had already been friends for months now and somehow this topic had been avoided like the plague. He managed to bite it back, for both their sakes, and mulled over the question instead. 

“I’ve never given it deep thought.” Shiro near choked on his own lie. “Is this really something you want to know?” 

He wasn’t trying to scare Keith away from the conversation, but it was unlike him to ask. Even when talking about the gossip around the base, Keith always got a glazed-over sheen in his eyes whenever Shiro started talking about which newcomer was cutest. 

“Fine. Ask me, then.” Keith bit out. 

Shiro blinked down at him, surprised, and cautiously did just that. 

“I...really admire those that fight to protect. I think there’s no more honorable way to live your life than to dedicate it to helping others. It’s -- it’s hot.” Keith fumbled with his words, but the fierce look he was pining Shiro with left him breathless. 

“They don’t have to be, but I like it if my partner is taller than me.” Keith continued, stepping closer. 

“They obviously take care of themselves. I want someone I can go to the gym with, someone that can keep up with me if we spar. I can’t resist a good smile, either. Even better if it’s matched with a kind nature, and really really awful jokes.” 

Now standing abreast, Keith tilted his head up and gave Shiro a tiny smirk. 

Keith knew what he was asking. 

Shiro in turn reached up and scrubbed his face with his hand, aware that he was turning a frantic cherry red. He tried to salvage his dignity by stammering out, “S-so you want me to set you up with Hunk?” 

Keith blinked up at Shiro in pure disbelief before breaking into a snort of laughter. He grabbed Shiro’s shoulders and pulled the other man’s face close, fingernails catching in the fabric of his shirt in his urgency. “Hunk isn’t the one bringing me coffee every morning.” 

This close, Shiro could still smell the scent of coca on Keith’s lips. All confidence fled his body in a panic and the only thing keeping him in place was Keith’s fingers curled like claws in his shirt. “Keith…” 

The panic must have shone through – Keith’s hopefulness fell to despair and he took a step back. He opened his mouth to apologize, maybe make some kind of hasty excuse to leave, but Shiro couldn’t bear the idea of them leaving this unresolved. 

Shiro leaned down to meet Keith halfway, and kissed him.

Keith’s breath stuttered at first contact but his recovery was so fast it nearly bent Shiro in half. He found himself crowded back against the workdesk, Keith’s arms bracketing him in place like a challenge. They broke away, sighed for a quick breath, then met again, slower, in a vain attempt to draw this out. Touches came next in-between soft kisses, until Shiro had Keith pressed flush against him with one hand in his raven-black hair and the other on his hip to keep him there until the end of time. 

Keith’s arms went from bracketing Shiro to lifting him up on the desk. Shiro’s muffled noise of surprise earned a chuckle from Keith, who was now a man with a mission. He dropped to his knees in front of Shiro and pressed his cheek to the inside of his thigh, eyes wide with wonder as he watched Shiro turn cherry red. “...this OK?” 

“Yeah, yeah Keith.” 

In retrospect, what they did in the workshop was stupid as hell. The door wasn’t locked, everyone knew the two of them were in there, and the room wasn’t soundproof nor was Shiro a quiet man. By all means they should have been caught, or at the very least a little bit embarrassed of their actions. 

Instead it all focused to  _ keith, keith, keith  _ and after a moment of reprieve,  _ shiro, shiro, shiro. _

 

…

 

“Stop it, Shiro.” Keith’s voice was quiet, hushed, but his tone was firm. A brush of knuckles against his bare chest had Shiro turning towards the source, the sight making him grin without conscious effort. They were still in the workshop -- they had barely made it to the privacy of the back room, hell -- so the dim lighting let Shiro see little. Still, Keith looked like a heavenly being bathed in the soft fluorescents, and the fact that his expression was so tender for Shiro, and Shiro alone, made his heart race again. 

But, right. Keith was admonishing him for some reason. “What is it?” Shiro asked, just as soft. There was no reason to be quiet now, really, but they both felt the strange need to keep the afterglow between just the two of them. 

Keith shoved up from his spot beside Shiro and tucked himself close, instead, resting his chin over Shiro’s frantic heartbeat. “I can  _ hear  _ you thinking.” 

“I just --” Shiro bit his tongue, falling right into Keith’s trap. He was about to admit it all, right here, “I feel bad.” 

Violet eyes glared up at him. 

“Because!” Oh god, how was he supposed to explain this without looking like a complete sap? Shiro scrubbed at his growing blush and sighed. “I meant to, you know, ease us into things. Not -- not that I regret what we did!” Words bumbled out of him with the elegance of a newborn foal. “I wanted to take you out. Show you some fun. You deserve that, Keith.” 

He had the perfect scenarios written out like a script in his mind -- taking Keith to the pier, hand-in-hand, with the chill of the sea breeze drawing them close together. Watching a movie on a real big-screen, with popcorn to share, instead of cramming together in the cafeteria for Film Night with the entirety of the American base. Or, even better, getting to play a game of Laser Tag with spoils to the winner, and maybe a few kisses in the dark if they can manage. 

Being a Jaeger pilot meant leaving the base to achieve any of those daydream-dates was going to be next to impossible, but Shiro would fight tooth and nail if Keith would just say ‘yes’. 

As it was, they skipped right from the PG parts to the stuff that had Shiro grinning like a teenage idiot.

Keith huffed at him, as if Shiro just admitted the silliest thing he had ever heard, and pressed his cheek harder against Shiro’s chest. Disgruntled was a very light way of describing how he looked. Shiro reached up to pet Keith’s hair, to ease some of that frustration, but Keith finally spoke, saying, “You’ve brought me coffee every morning without fail the last two months and stayed to talk with me long after our mugs had gone cold.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about dating, but that felt like  _ something  _ to me.” 

“So if anything,” Keith grinned as he propped his chin up on his hands, “we’ve been taking this nice and slow.” 

Well. Shiro couldn’t very well argue with that -- and it did soothe the aching worry that he had rushed things with Keith. Here the man was, watching him with a gentle gaze and basically suggesting they should be much further along. Shiro didn’t miss the soft graze of Keith’s fingertips up and down his torso, hand sliding down to the point where their bodies were joined. His breath hitched as Keith pressed his hand down with intent at the same moment he trailed his lips over Shiro’s scarred skin. 

“I want you, Keith.” Shiro gasped.

“Not here.” Keith answered.

“No,” Even with his mind turning somersaults, Shiro could grasp that much. “Not here.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favorite chapter to write, tbh.


	5. 5

They agreed to meet in Shiro’s dorm after the final dinner toll -- giving both the men some time to cool down. 

The separation was also a perfect amount of time for Shiro to overthink every aspect of their approaching night together, enough so that his hand was trembling as he tried to spoon himself a mouthful of the cafeteria’s pitiful meatloaf. The pathetic performance was enough to goad a comment from Pidge, of which Shiro could only sputter in reply to and turn red, going back to his plate. 

When Keith finally found him at their agreed time, he didn’t look much better. 

Keith had been over to Shiro’s rooms for more innocent matters countless times before, but he made the effort now to look interested in his surroundings. His hair was slightly damp from his recent shower, with the Garrison-grade standard soap smell somehow alluring when it clung to Keith. “You look nervous.” 

“Because I am.” Shiro wouldn’t lie, not about this. “It’s been a long time for me. And you’re  _ you. _ I want this to be --” The rest of the sentence died in his throat the moment Keith turned his gaze on him. 

“We don’t have to do this.” 

The wash of relief was almost embarrassing. “I meant what I said.” 

They walked to the edge of the bed and sat, close, and Shiro wished his heart would slow to something more respectable. “I know, Shiro.” Keith curved his hand against Shiro’s cheek and pulled him down, resting in crook of Shiro’s neck and breathing deep. “But waiting won’t hurt anything.” 

Speaking of the future never ended well on a Jaeger base, but Shiro let the conversation falter there. He met Keith for a few kisses and then, with the final bed toll clanging in the distance, they retired to bed. 

He didn’t even have the energy to be disappointed in himself -- they had still made fools of themselves in the workshop, and Keith was curled against him now, so all in all Shiro found himself the winner. He trailed a hand through Keith’s curlier locks at the nape of his neck and was rewarded with a content murmur. Sleep took them before either even knew it.

Training made it impossible to sleep in. Both of them woke nearly in tandem -- Shiro had maybe a few more seconds than Keith to figure out how they had tangled around one another in the night. 

Blinking sleep from his eyes wasn’t helping with the overwhelming drowsiness though, so Shiro breathed a warm sigh against Keith’s exposed shoulder and relented himself to the comfort for just a moment longer.

Keith stirred not a minute later with a soft grunt of confusion. It was an indescribable moment to actively feel Keith go from tense and unsure to relaxed contentment in Shiro’s arms, and he had to resist the urge to giggle over his newfound victory. That instead was choked off when Keith turned onto his back to meet Shiro’s gaze. 

He was so soft from sleep. “Mornin’.” 

“Morning.” Shiro tried so hard not to let his overpowering affection pour through, but he could tell he failed by the way Keith’s smile curved into something more intimate. 

There were a myriad of things Shiro could ask about -- did Keith know he snored? Did he sleep OK? Was there perhaps a chance Keith would be into being the big spoon, every so often? 

The kiss they shared conveyed all answers and more, even though it was only for a moment. 

Shiro had been content to leave it at that -- the angle was a little awkward, and they both still had unpleasant morning breath -- but something compelled him to follow through with another. And another. 

Until Keith was tilting his head.

And Shiro answered in kind. 

Until they were bracketed together, Shiro between Keith’s legs and aching from the heat shared between them. 

Keith openly moaned with want just once, head thrown back against his flattened pillow, and all rational thought fled the two of them. The grasping dredges of sleep made things slow and achingly drawn out, but warmer too. 

It felt taboo to talk and break this new sacred silence.

Even Keith’s gasps were softer, few and far between as Shiro stretched him open. By the time Shiro was sheathed in full and had Keith’s legs hitched up on his hips, they had orbited closer together at the expense of a hard, fast fuck. Shiro took his time and was rewarded with each sound of praise offered from the man beneath him. 

A particularly well-placed thrust, confirmed with Keith’s sudden sucked in breath, had Shiro pressing his forehead into Keith’s sweaty neck and fucking him into abandon. 

The remnants of sleep were gone. All that was left was hunger. 

Keith’s knees were nearly touching his collarbones by the time he yelled his release. With a few more pumps into the tight heat, Shiro followed, gasping out Keith’s name in soft reverence. 

It didn’t feel right to tease, after. But still Keith brought his hand up over his eyes and laughed, breathlessly, until Shiro kissed all disbelief from him. When the hand finally fell away and Keith fixed Shiro with his galactic gaze, they shared a small smile between them in understanding. 

They managed a few more minutes of sleep before the first morning toll woke them again. 

Seeing Keith’s skin unmarred from their lovemaking inspired Shiro to lean over and leave a few hickies. Keith laughed at the foreign touch, unaware of the blooming red marks they would leave, and allowed Shiro to leave far too many as a result. 

He was feeling pretty good about his handiwork until Keith rolled him over and straddled his hips -- all thought left him in a rush at that. It returned only after Keith had leaned down and left a few marks of his own, way too high up and embarrassingly rough. “Keith, we’re going to be late --” 

Keith rolled his hips back and parted his lips in a soft gasp, just so, watching with his violet gaze. “Yeah?” 

“Ohmygod.” It felt silly, but Shiro couldn’t help the involuntary twitch of hunger that Keith woke. “Again?” 

“If you want.” The way Keith moved implied very gently that Shiro still technically had a say in the matter. Shiro absolutely did not need a say -- he grabbed Keith’s hips and helped him grind down. When another groan spilled from Keith, he managed to say, “I’ve been thinking about this for so long, Shiro.”

Shiro went from thinking about what meetings he could afford to miss to wondering if there were enough hours in the day to unravel Keith in each particular fantasy. It was the least he could do. His cock twitched in answer again, unhelpful. “You should tell me.” 

Keith cracked open an eye. “Huh?” 

“About what you’ve been thinking about.” 

His answering laugh was infectious and Shiro near about died when Keith leaned down. “Let me call you Takashi.”

 

…

 

All things considered, Shiro shouldn’t have been surprised that word got out as fast as it did. The population at the base was small enough that drama had the same value as gold and switched hands faster than a pack of cigarettes between friends. 

Keith was certainly not helping things when he would come up behind Shiro, unannounced, and casually slide his hand into his back pocket as naturally as if it belonged there. Not that Shiro was complaining. Most of the time Keith’s hand remained innocently flat, just possessively present. 

Most of the time.

The Jaeger drills made Adam the first to know -- and besides getting a really dry look as Adam was slapped in the face with all the gory details of the morning-of -- he seemed perfectly happy for Shiro. The base as a whole seemed pleased by this particular turn of events, actually. 

Except those who lost money on the timeline of things, of course. 

Lance’s initial response was so off-putting that Keith nearly smashed him over the head with the wrench in his hand, but was placated only when Lance whined, “I thought you two losers were already dating!” 

“Apparently you’re not the only one.” Shiro watched Keith go red with an odd sense of satisfaction and shrugged. “You know I’m a disaster at this stuff. Your bad bet is on you.” 

“What’d you bet, anyway?” Now that the initial shock of finding out the entire base was in on the betting pool, Keith let his curiosity take the best of him. 

It was only grumbles from Lance. He crossed his arms and refused to answer -- only to have the winner come by and gloat instead. “Lance bet, and I quote,” Pidge grinned, “‘The Jaeger experience of a lifetime.’ Can’t wait, buddy.” 

Besides the constant gaze of the base on them, being in a relationship with Keith felt natural. Eventually the attention did die down and they were able to get away with more and more. Shiro was just as bad as Keith when it came to stealing kisses, crowding one another against their desk late at night, or -- god forgive them for this one --  the few times they had successfully managed to unravel each other in  _ Paragon Atlas _ . 

The third time was the final straw for Adam. So that stopped. 

Shiro did finally get a chance to take Keith on the pier date of his fantasies, complete with carnival game winning, bad sugar-crusted food, and huddling together with their toes dipping into the calm, cool sea.

And when Keith turned to him, hair tossed by the wind and eyes alive with stars, and said so low, “I love you.”, Shiro knew this was his end and their beginning.

 

...

 

Shiro still made sure to bring Keith his coffee in the mornings, but these days it was always paired with a kiss.


	6. 6

“When are you going to pop the question?” Adam said it so nonchalantly that it near flew right over Shiro’s head. Clarity hit him like a sack of bricks a moment later, when Adam only continued to grin. Shiro sputtered, ready to deny the fact, then remembered they were currently linked and Adam had a front-row seat to every horrid proposal idea that Shiro had managed to dream up. Fuck. 

Shiro lazily swatted at Adam’s side, careful to prevent  _ Atlas _ from mirroring the motion. “That’s rude, Adam. Get your own headspace.” Not that he didn’t want Adam’s opinion – he had always been the more rational one of the two, and his plans landed in success more than Shiro’s ever did – it was just hard to ask. “But if you have a suggestion…?” 

“Oh, no, no. I think asking him in  _ Atlas _ wouldn’t be completely over the top and also definitely not awkward with me having to be somewhat present and the whole base on lockdown because you forgot to get permission.” Adam laughed again. He wasn’t being mean about it, but Shiro’s cheeks still flushed a bright red. He had to tease him over the worst idea possible, didn’t he? 

“Listen…” 

“The platinum ring is a good idea.” Adam finally drawled out. “I like this one in particular.” A vision of a plain black platinum ring with a stripe of purple through the middle flashed in Shiro’s mind. Oh. That had been his favorite, too. It was simple, no fuss, and just the right amount of flashy. Getting it to the base would be none of those things, unfortunately. “So at least you managed that much. He’ll love it, Shiro, but you and I both know you could propose with a spare bolt and he’d still say yes.” 

Shiro choked again. “I wouldn’t do that.” 

“Then have the sense to ask soon.”

Now that was surprising. He thought, with he and Keith having only dated for a half-year, Adam would be protesting how fast Shiro was taking things. It was eating even at him, truth be told. “You don’t think it’s too soon?” 

Adam slid Shiro a knowing look. “You really have to ask?” 

Jaeger mortality statistics hit Shiro in the face like a bat. He gave a small nod in understanding, feeling the pit of his stomach drop with the realization. In the glow of his new relationship, where he felt invincible, he had forgotten that most Jaegers only led 4-year campaigns. And those were the lucky ones.  _ Paragon Atlas _ was hitting Kaiju near three  times a month, both as domestic defenses and foreign support. 

Shiro brought his focus back to the parade they were currently walking through and let new ideas pop around; Adam turned his gaze back to the street to give him the illusion of privacy.

...

 

It was late by the time they returned to base, and Shiro wanted nothing more than to scrub his body and soul clean under the unrelenting cold of a shower. He had only the first dredges of relief when the door slid open and he remembered that Keith had moved in. Keith looked up from the bed, tucked in like a creature hiding from the cold, and gave Shiro a welcoming smile. “Hey. Welcome back. “

The sight was saccharine and incredibly heart-warming. Shiro froze in the doorway, unsure, and only moved when Keith motioned him to come in. “You look comfy.” Nothing smarter would come out, so Shiro settled with that. He shucked off his uniform in pieces and took a moment to appreciate the cool air that caressed his freed skin. “Are you cold?” 

“A little.” Keith had a book sitting in his lap, but for all the good it was doing he might as well chuck it across the room. His violet eyes were trained on Shiro and his sweat-slicked skin, tussled hair, and tense shoulders. He looked like a man with a mission. “C’mere and warm me up.” 

That earned a laugh. Shiro shook his head and watched Keith dissolve into a pout. “I’m gross right now. I need to shower.” 

“That’s extremely debatable.” The sheets puffed up as Keith flopped back, and settled around him like freshly-fallen snow. Shiro couldn’t help but press a consolidating kiss to his forehead, then found his arms grabbed when he got too close. A trap! 

“Keeeeith.” Keith snapped his teeth next to Shiro’s ear but let go anyway. “I missed you too.” 

“Don’t be gross.” Cold hands cupped Shiro’s face and brought his lips down to Keith’s own. They shared a soft, fleeting kiss, then another, before Shiro was able to pull back. “How was the parade?” Keith tried to ask, distracted when Shiro turned to nuzzle into the palm of his hand. “Mmrgh, nevermind, just go take your shower. You really do stink.” 

Those cold hands were only mildly warmer when Shiro released his grip, but once he was back from the shower he was pressed against in full like a human heater. “Parade was good. Didn’t step on anyone, just like I promised.” Shiro wrapped his arms around Keith’s slender frame and pulled him closer, taking advantage of his position to bury his face into the crook of his neck. 

“Good. It’d take a lifetime to get human parts out of  _ Atlas _ ’ heel.” Keith smiled, taking advantage of his boyfriend’s proximity by hitching one leg up to settle on Shiro’s hip. Shiro meant to pull back and give Keith a scandalous look, he really did, but it was too warm and comfortable exactly where he was. 

“Stop trying to seduce me. I’m cozy.”

Keith laughed again and rolled his hips forward. They were too tangled together for it to have any sort of effect, so it just made Shiro laugh in answer. “Is this doing anything for you, Shirogane?” Keith taunted through Shiro’s wheezy giggles. “You regret inviting me into your bed yet?” 

The sheets were thrown off the bed in their haste, leaving the bed a barren battleground. Shiro grabbed for a stray pillow to smother Keith with, but the other man pushed him onto his back before it could be used in defense. Keith had absolutely no reason to look so smug from his seat on Shiro’s stomach, but he still reveled in his short-lived victory. His mouth opened to say something snide, probably, but Shiro leaned up and shushed him with a heated kiss. 

Keith leaned into it and bit Shiro’s bottom lip when he tried to pull away too soon. Shiro retaliated with a hand up the back of Keith’s sleep-shirt. It was his turn to revel in the soft gasp Keith made at the bold touch it turned into.

“Are you really tired? You don’t have to.” Keith whispered. His hands slid down the broad expanse of Shiro’s chest, wanting, but willing to wait if Shiro didn’t want it. 

Shiro appreciated the concern, but was quick to chase it away with another kiss. When Keith was sufficiently breathless and pliant, Shiro murmured, “Well, my boyfriend’s cold, so…” 

“I mean it.” Stern words for someone melting in his lap. Shiro tried not to smirk, failed, and hid his expression by worrying a mark onto Keith’s collarbone. Keith’s breath hitched as it bloomed red over his skin. 

“Mm.” Shiro stole another kiss, heart jumping as he finally managed to say, “I’d really love for you to fuck me.” 

“Oh!” 

Keith’s quiet was enough to rouse a nervous laugh from Shiro. They never talked about it per say, but Shiro just assumed, with them always striving for equal give and take -- “If you don’t want, we uh--” 

When he raised his eyes and took in the fierce arousal pooling in Keith’s gaze, almost predatory, Shiro’s mouth shut snap in an effort to keep him alive. “Nope.” Shiro moved in for another kiss when Keith dragged him up by the collar of his shirt, but Keith tilted his head just at the last second and bit a shallow mark into the meat of Shiro’s neck instead. “Fuck, Takashi. I’m going to be so good for you.”

Keith unraveled Shiro first by sucking his cock and fingering him at the same time. The second time Shiro orgasmed, Keith’s pace was so brutal he couldn’t remember any name but Keith’s own, begged with it with unabashed moans, and saw white when they climaxed.

Before sleep took him, Shiro briefly wondered why the hell he hadn’t asked sooner.

By the time Shiro stirred again, Keith was propped back up against the backboard of the bed with Shiro’s tablet in hand. He had a brief moment of panic, wondering if there were any conspicuous tabs open with wedding rings spread across the page, then remembered he had made sure to purge it the last time Pidge opened it up and made fun of him for it. Shiro settled his trembling hands down to Keith’s blanketed thigh and waited until that focused gaze turned its attention to him. “Sorry.” 

Keith gave a small shrug, and fought the proud smirk tugging at his lips. It was a compliment, if anything. He freed a hand from the tablet and ran his fingers through Shiro’s tousled hair, ruffling it playfully when Shiro made a content noise. “You had a busy day.” An understatement for sure, but Shiro still couldn’t help his sheepish smile. 

“Still want to snuggle?” It took a moment, but Keith slipped back under the covers and pressed his back into Shiro’s open arms. Shiro immediately bracketed him in tight and buried his face into the back of Keith’s neck, pressing soft kisses here and there until Keith waved an impatient hand at him. “What are you looking at?” 

The orange glass was covered in transparent white numbers stacked in neat columns and calculated at the very bottom into a sad, tiny little number. Keith was tapping at it impatiently over and over, near growling when the tiny sum only gained a few extra points. “I’m uh,” he shifted in Shiro’s arms, “trying to budget something.” 

“Must be expensive.” 

“I’m working on it.” Keith didn’t sound discouraged, which was good, but Shiro was curious enough to continue asking. 

“So….” Shiro pressed his mouth close to Keith’s ear and asked, real low, “what is it?” 

“Working on getting you a sense of humor.” Keith said, monotone, “It’s decimating my savings, though. Maybe if I eat only two meals a day…” 

Keith punched in the new numbers. The sum finally jumped to something more practical. “We don’t need our lead technician fainting because he’s hungry.” Shiro had to interject fast because Keith was a bit too quiet, suddenly. 

“I don’t even notice the food, half the time.” 

“Keith…” 

“Fine. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for that sense of humor.” 

The holopad finally blinked off and plunged the room back to darkness. Keith shifted only a moment to place it on the bedside table, returning with his face pressed to Shiro’s chest. There was still a burning desire to ask but Shiro had enough sense to know when someone was avoiding a subject. He focused on the soft tickle of Keith’s hair instead, how he was starting to smell of their shared shampoo, the roughness of the sheets against his skin and how it contrasted with Keith’s pliant form. 

Shiro never thought of the American base as his home. He still remembered his parents’ faces too clearly and the distinct smell of the salty sea air before it was marred with ancient alien blood. 

A home was never supposed to be about the location. It was with family, and family was tied to those you loved and cherished, be they blood-related or not. The Holts, the other Jaeger pilots, even the crew in the base all made up a hell of an extended family. They cared for the safety of Takashi Shirogane, whether they admitted it out loud or through small, inconsequential reminders. 

He loved them all. 

And Keith fit in there, the perfect final puzzle piece that revealed a breath-taking image. 

Shiro never thought of the American base as his home.

But so long as his family was here, he was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #bottomshiro ;3c


	7. 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up merging chapter 7 and 8 since they were both so bite sized. Next chapter is the last!

If you ask Takashi Shirogane his thoughts on Hong Kong, you could get any mix of answers.

The staggering pain of having the Jaeger ripped in half.

Adam’s panicked yell.

The sound of claws screaming against the metal.

Warm, black nothingness.

The Category IV was huge, bigger than they had even seen or dreamed of, and split open _Atlas_ like she was made of paper; scattering her pieces to the wind before swallowing down the rest. Adam had been ripped from his tether in that first assault – Shiro heard his scream, answered it with one his own, and turned in time to see the Kaiju’s jaws bite down.

No one would tell him what he looked like when his sister Jaegers managed to cut the debris free of the Kaiju’s stomach. The hazard team had to saw through stomach-lining as thick as concrete to locate a body – they hadn’t expected Shiro to still be alive, but there was an unspoken truth that he deserved the effort to deliver a body home for burial.

Shiro was washed in blue blood and missing an arm, but he was still alive when they finally found him in the third chamber. Until they got him to the hospital – then his heart really did give.

Takashi Shirogane was legally dead for two minutes.

He felt dead still when the defibrillator scorched through his body and forced his mouth open in a scream.

 

…

 

Keith’s hand covered his own in soft reverence, squeezing just so until Shiro let the tablet drop into his lap. It had been months now since the drop – therapy was going as expected, and he had long since been released from the hospital with the promise to return every other day – but Shiro had yet to see the video of _Atlas’_ fall. Keith’s quiet, pleading look was enough to keep Shiro from searching for it.

“Do you still want to go?” Keith asked. His presence was the only thing Shiro could keep up with these days – everything else was a haze of physical therapy and time-burning paperwork. Even now, in the familiarity of their room, Shiro could barely keep focus with the slew of external stimuli around them. He blinked a few times and brought his focus back to Keith.

“Yeah. Yeah, I want to see the memorial.” It was the only thing he could still do for Adam, and the thought alone brought a sour taste to his mouth. “Are the flowers here?”

In way of answer, Keith turned to grab the small bouquet. He watched from the sidelines as Shiro pried himself free, and offered a helping hand only when Shiro’s knees started to buckle. It was humiliating to need help still this far after the drop, but Shiro knew better than to grit his teeth and hurt himself even further. He slung his arm around Keith’s wide shoulders and pressed closer. “You know…” Keith started with a lilting tease, but his smile faltered. He was unsure.

Shiro tried his best to press his hip against Keith’s, to nudge some kind of response from him, but Keith’s lips pressed further into a frown. Instead they continued out into the hallway, hell-bent on making it to the memorial wall. “What is it, Keith?”

“I was just…it doesn’t feel right to tease you. On our way. To the memorial.”

Well, framed like that Shiro couldn’t fucking blame Keith for biting his tongue. “Keith, it’s fine. Lay it on me. I could use some rough handling after being treated like glass for the last few months.”

“Rough…handling.” Finally, he got a laugh from Keith and felt all the better for it. He could feel the shivers of laughter rumbling through him from where they were pressed together, and marveled in the sound of it. There had been too much doom and gloom around him of late – Shiro just wanted some gentle reminder of normalcy.

It felt good, whole, and safe until the moment Shiro turned his gaze to the memorial. All at once he felt the staggering grip of death again, twofold when he saw Adam’s faded picture tacked to the wall. The Category IV drop had claimed five Jaeger pilots and countless civilians – Hong Kong had fallen to a mindless slaughter before _Blue_ finally landed the killing blow. The media saw it as an embarrassing failure while Jaeger pilots turned their gaze to the Pacific with fear burning hot and fast through their hearts.

If there was one, there were more.

That was the law of the Pacific Rim since its inception – and if a Category IV could crawl out, what was stopping the Rim from spitting out something even uglier, even meaner?

“I didn’t realize –“ Shiro took a deep, steadying breath. “it took down another Jaeger?” _Atlas_ had landed just in time to see _Quiznak Red_ crash; he hadn’t thought that their backup had perished, as well.

“Yeah.”  The confirmation did nothing to calm Shiro’s nerves. The room seemed small and cramped, crushing them in, so Shiro used the bouquet as an excuse to look away from the wall of names. Tears broke from him regardless, and Shiro fell to his knees with an aching sob.

Keith was there in an instant, hand soothing down the curve of his back. “I’m sorry, Shiro.”

When Shiro finally calmed enough to stand again, bone-crushing exhaustion was there to cloak over him. It felt impossible to walk back to his bedroom so Keith brought him to the nearest couch he could find and left him there in search of water.

It didn’t take long for Keith to return victorious. They shared the water bottle in silence for a few minutes before Shiro tried to speak. He throat felt dry despite the soothing liquid, but he knew this had to be said. “Keith,” he rasped, “I want to pilot again.”

“I know.” With someone like Shiro, it was obvious from the moment he regained consciousness.

“I shouldn’t want to.”

“No one can blame you for wanting to fight.”

Shiro brought his hand up to the space where his right arm should be. It clenched on empty air – sometimes he could still feel the limb, prickling with strange sensations he had never known before. “It won’t be easy.”  

“But you’ll get through it, Shiro. I’ll be here to support you every step of the way.”

“Keith, I…” The words caught in his throat. Shiro resisted the urge to grab the water bottle, desperate to say this while he could, while he had the courage to. Keith waited with death-like stillness beside him, purple eyes pinning his gray. “I can’t let you do this to yourself. I can’t let you rot while you wait for me. Keith, you’re made for such great things. It’s going to take…to take me ages to be ready again, with therapy and waiting for repairs on _Atlas_ , and --”

This wasn’t what Keith thought Shiro would say. He swallowed down his own horror as Keith brought a hand up and slid it along the back of Shiro’s neck. The act was soothing enough that it cut off Shiro’s babbling for just a breath, but he tensed again when Keith spoke quiet and slow. “I’m not going to let you make yourself a martyr, Shiro. I know what you’re doing because I’ve done it myself, again and again, in hopes people will leave me before I get hurt for caring.” Keith moved his palm in slow circles, eyes half-lidded as he continued, “Please don’t decide what’s best for me. I want to be here, with you.”

“…I’m sorry.” Shiro brought his hand to his eyes and massaged the soreness there. Stars sparked in the darkness. “I’m so tired, Keith.”

The palm against Shiro’s neck moved down, lower, pressing gently down and back up. It was a motion achingly similar to Shiro’s own invention, but Keith had to go and add his own flavor of comfort to it. Shiro finally smiled a touch at the saccharine thought. It was only a short while into their relationship that Shiro had noticed Keith made small, covert motions of comfort all on his own. So he made to do the same – turning grounding shoulder-grips into soothing trips of his knuckles up and down the width of Keith’s shoulder blade.

Keith’s hand finally stilled, and Shiro waited for him to say what was on his mind, quiet as the tips of his fingers went tap-tap along his spine. “If I started Jaeger training now, do you think I would be ready by the time your therapy is finished?”

Immediately, Shiro felt like he was going to cry again. Relief choked him as he gasped, “Yes.”

 

...

 

  
In hindsight, maybe Shiro should have been nervous about this. There shouldn’t be such a clear, unwavering certainty that he and Keith would be Drift Compatible. Keith had never run a simulation before, whereas Shiro had completed more successful drops than the entirety of the base combined so there was bound to be some unbalance, they assured, but it wouldn’t be anything fatal.

While Shiro continued through therapy with his shiny new prosthetic, Keith threw himself into Jaeger orientation. He came back each night with reports and stats for Shiro to pour over – he could only help so much without seeing the actual run, but stats spoke some truth of the matter.

Keith was fucking phenomenal. His stats were better than Shiro’s at the beginning, and Shiro was quick to gush over that, but Keith only blushed and shrugged it off.  

“I know about the internal workings.” Keith scratched his cheek, mulling it over. “That’s probably what it is.”

When another Category IV finally crawled from the Pacific, Shiro and Keith were both in the viewing room watching _Blue_ rip into it. “Killing blow.” Shiro called one breath before _Blue’_ s photon cannon carved a new hole into the Kaiju’s chest. “Confirm the kill.” Lance and Allura went through the motion of twisting off the head, unknowingly following Shiro’s direction, and the team cheered in victory.

They had been lucky that this one was so far from civilian shores – cannon blast had kept it pinned long enough for _Blue_ and _Starstriker Resistance_ to show up and wreck it. Even though it was a Category IV like the other that had downed three Jaegers, this one seemed more subdued and bent on moving forward instead of fighting back. It took the hits, one after another, until instinct cut in to finally defend itself but by then it was already too late.

Pidge was already calculating up the damages by the time the viewing party cleared to return to their stations. She turned to Keith, paused, and looked back down at her notes. Keith seemed to understand her hesitance and gently grappled the notes from her hands, ignoring her soft sounds of protest to review them with Hunk.

For someone straddling the line between Jaeger pilot and mechanic, Keith wasn’t doing half bad.

He knew he’d get hell if Keith caught him smiling with obvious pride, so Shiro slid from the room to hurry to his next therapy appointment. If they were still conscious by the time they crawled into bed, Shiro would make sure to review the fight and give Keith the key points that won the battle.

That was a big if, though. Between Shiro’s therapy, Keith’s training, and every other direction they were currently being pulled in, normally one or both of them were knocked out in bed by the final bell toll. It was expected with the undercurrent of urgency running through the base, but Shiro still mourned the lazy mornings he used to afford with Keith. It had been _forever_ since they last shared anything more than a hurried kiss or a hug.

Shiro knew their schedules would change drastically once Keith got green-lit for piloting.

It would go from nothing to everything in the blink of an eye all in an effort to keep up their compatibility, to mold them into the perfect synced pair. Shiro could already feel the ease of rhythm between them; it was nothing embarrassing like finishing each other’s sentences (though, like with Adam, that too would come) but he would catch them breathing in tandem or mirroring movements or even grumbling from hunger at the same time.

So far, Keith had done well with his simulation drops. Their sim AI ‘Sara’ accepted Keith as easily as a long-lost friend, though Keith looked a bit queasy by the time he came stumbling out. “She’s, uh,” Keith pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, paused, and tried to speak again, “really hard to shake off.”

“That’s not the point, Keith.” The thought of Keith panicking as another mind tried to meld with his own shouldn’t make him laugh, but Shiro couldn’t help but chuckle at the mental image. “Drift Compatibility is about syncing into one. Even the release should feel effortless.”

“I know, I know. It’s just hard to link up with her when I’m busy thinking about you.” Keith shyly admitted. The words sent a rush of heat through Shiro, so fast and hot Shiro couldn’t form a full sentence in reply. Here he was, the man he loved and wanted to marry and live the rest of his days with, stating something so intimate as if it was nothing.

Shiro scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed, horribly aware his face was turning cherry red. “This is going to kill me, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“Nothing.” Shiro willed his cheeks back to a normal color and brought his hand down to grab at Keith’s own. They could go over the nuances of Drift Compatibility, sharing memories, and staying grounded literally any other time. Right now, he wanted to steal Keith away. “Do you have a spare moment?”

The look on Keith’s face said no, neither of them had a spare moment scheduled in. They both grimaced but Shiro just tugged again. “Come with me anyway.”

“What for?” Keith fell forward a step, then another, sliding his palm down so the two were walking hand-in-hand.

“I think…yeah.” Shiro looked both ways down the hall and quickly led Keith into an empty conference room, shutting the door behind them with a soft click in the illusion of privacy. Keith walked a few more steps in and put his hands on his hips, surveying the empty seats with raised eyebrows, then turned to Shiro with a knowing grin.

“ _Takashi_ ,” Keith admonished, “are you stealing me away?”

Shiro slid into Keith’s space, hands resting contently on his hips and barely resisting the urge to move them back and cup the fullness there. Later, maybe. “A little.” Keith tilted his head up to meet Shiro’s kiss, parting his lips when Shiro ran his tongue along his lower lip. Stealing away into an empty room was nothing new for these two, would likely stay an embarrassingly regular occurrence, but with experience came the benefits of learning. “We have maybe five minutes before someone comes shouting for us.” Shiro whispered, stealing another kiss immediately after.

Keith laughed in reply and wrapped his arms around Shiro’s neck. “Then kiss me.”  

 

…

 

The wonder of Drift Compatibility was that any two people with a strong bond could theoretically pilot a Jaeger together. The bond could be familial, romantic, platonic, built on a strong sense of mutual respect, or any other brand of kinship so long as those two people were able to share themselves empathically. This was no first day at work ice-breaker – anything your partner wanted to know was laid out in plain writing. You would see the good, the bad, and every whispered thought in between.

But strongest of all were the memories. Shiro had lived through enough of Adam’s to know that bad ones were the first to lash out when syncing. Sometimes talking through them brought them to rest, but other times they would be a constant you had to grapple with for the rest of your life.

It was a relief to be able to tell Keith what he would see flashes of. Most of the memories were gentle enough for all the hurt they brought – the Shirogane funeral, rejection after rejection after rejection from schools with no need for a charity case, the first Kaiju drop hitting the news, losing his first Jaeger crew, and then finally losing Adam.

For each bad memory, Shiro was careful to bring something pleasant to mind. He thought of his first puppy, the wonder of reaching America, getting accepted into the Jaeger program and meeting his new friends. Meeting Keith for the first time and getting lost in his violet irises. Every piece of joy that he brought after.

Keith answered with a small smile of his own, left to wonder what memories would try to overwhelm Shiro when they first stepped into the Jaeger together. “I lost my Dad young, but Mom was always there for me even as a Jaeger pilot. You might see his funeral. Maybe the first Kaiju drop, too. Thinking I lost my Mom, and walking her back into recovery. Losing my uncles the year after.”

“What about good memories?” Shiro offered, when Keith grew too quiet.

“Oh. Uh…” Keith ran a hand down his arm and gripped his wrist. They both knew personal conversations like this made Keith uncomfortable, had been working on it as long as they had been dating, but it was better to lay it out here than have it ripped from you without warning in the Jaeger. “Getting green-lit to work on the Jaegers, then moving onto designing. Meeting Alfor.” Softer, he adds, “Meeting you.”

There were no certainties with Drift Compatibility – but Shiro was painfully aware of one memory that might surface. He wasn’t so much embarrassed about reliving their first night together as he was that Keith might see the engagement ring before it was ever presented to him. It came in a secretly-packaged box, addressed simply to Shiro, and delivered to Pidge’s workdesk for maximum security. Pidge found him bothering Keith at his workstation – as was normal these days – and gave him a discrete tap on the shoulder.

She had agreed only if she was allowed to see the finished product, and knowing she would die before letting any word get out, Shiro agreed. The rush of joy, excitement, and overwhelming love would surely grab at Keith once they were in the Jaeger. But that wasn’t how he wanted to propose, though he had no other idea in mind.

He had been planning it before the first Category IV hit but the chaos of the situation after didn’t allow the chance. He was broken, still working on building himself back up, and Keith didn’t deserve that at his lowest. This should be a new beginning not overshadowed by a heartbreaking tragedy.

The ring was hidden under a carefully folded stack of pants in Shiro’s half of the dresser, though Shiro was probably playing with fire considering how often he dragged it out and stared. He constantly thought about tucking it into a t-shirt, but Keith was borrowing those more and more frequently each day so that was definitely a no-go at this point.

It would be really easy to let Keith ‘find’ the ring.

But Shiro was a romantic at heart and he wanted this done _right._ Especially for Keith, who would be his partner in life and on the battlefield.

There were an infinite amount of ways to ask, but none of them were perfect enough for Keith.


	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it ! Thank you everyone who followed along this whole time and everyone who joined in after. This was a project dear to my heart and I'm happy to share it all with you. <3

Shiro woke with a headache and an old forgotten memory of launch day. 

There were three in particular Shiro could remember off-hand;  _ Brave Lion, Legendary Voltron,  _ and his own,  _ Paragon Atlas.  _

Barring the excitement that overcame on his own launch day, there was always a low feeling of dread whenever a Jaeger was released into the public eye. 

Your life was no longer your own -- it was now public domain, free to be picked apart and laid out bare and criticized or praised with as much air one could fill their lungs with. When you step into that armor and familiarize yourself with your new body and feel the knowledge of a titan, it’s so easy to forget that there is anything in the world that can still tear you down. 

_ Brave Lion  _ fell to a Kaiju that would later kill four more -- a warrior’s death that left their graves swimming in roses and tears.  _ Legendary Voltron  _ fell to poor public assent and retired in disgrace when even the pilots could not wipe clean all the errors they had made. 

Shiro woke Keith with a kiss to the shoulder and they rose in silence. There was still the headache pressing to the back of his skull, and Keith had thoughts of his own to distract him -- but it wasn't unkind. It left Shiro to mull everything over.

Shiro briefly wondered how he would be remembered. How Keith would be remembered, when they died.

Would they remember him as the man he had been, or the warrior laid to rest?

As he felt his armored suit compress to his form, Shiro realized how he wanted to remember Keith -- felt his throat constrict with the realization that was so blatantly obvious. Keith was right beside him, fighting his own fears and nerves, and Shiro hadn’t even given him anything more than a kiss this morning. 

Keith looked over when he felt Shiro’s hand touch his own, and finally the space between them warmed to something only the two of them would ever share. “Are you nervous?” 

The smile that passed between them was something even more intimate. Gray settled on purple in a cosmic neverland. “Not with you by my side.”

A voice called out to them, and the alarms in the base screamed in warning. The Jaeger was waking. 

Being escorted to the launch pad felt eerily similar to being walked down the aisle with the base’s crew standing at either side of the entryway, grinning wide with barely contained excitement. Some stood at salute, backs straight as steel, but even Iverson couldn’t help but smile a bit tearfully. 

Shiro recognized Allura, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge in the crowd, and nodded to them as they passed. Hunk had tears glittering in his eyes, but they all wore fierce looks of unmistakable pride. 

The motley crew of fifty seemed too minimal for the American base -- with it’s high, vaulted ceilings and two slumbering titans, the crowd gathered before them should have been filled twice over, maybe even three times. But as the two Pilots passed through, Shiro couldn’t help but be glad that it was only his family watching him choke back his own tears. 

Shiro’s feet crossed the threshold one step at a time, and he tilted his face upwards to stare at his new Jaeger. 

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” 

Beauty was an understatement. The sight of the  _ Black Lion  _ was nothing less than awe-inspiring. 

Alfor’s signature touches were unmistakable even surrounded by Keith’s careful design, but Shiro felt like an old friend staring up at  _ Black Lion.  _ She was smaller and more compact than  _ Atlas  _ had been, the sleek black paint and rows of illuminated blue and yellow lighting made her look quick, dangerous, and war-ready. A shield of red at her back was the only bulky piece of armor to her -- and even that Shiro knew could split in two and work as a battering ram. 

Careful placement of the plating allowed for easier maneuvering and left little room for claws to crawl under and peel off the pieces, one by one. Even if she went against a fellow Jaeger, the odds were stacked in her favor. Versus Kaiju, she was an angel of death. 

The  _ Black Lion  _ was truly a work of art. 

That Keith trusted this to Shiro’s clumsy handling felt like too much.

“You made this.” Shiro didn’t mask the disbelief in his voice. He had seen the tiny prototype what felt like ages ago, and here they were, standing together about the pilot Earth’s strongest protector. “I…” Words were failing him, so Shiro turned to Keith with a little laugh. 

Keith was sliding down on one knee. 

The breath left Shiro in a whoosh. He blinked once, twice, just to be sure, and then brought a hand to his mouth in disbelief.

“Shiro.” This close, he could see the slight tremble in Keith’s hands. As if Shiro would ever say  _ no.  _ “Knowing you, being with you these few years has been so, so incredibly important to me. You push me to be more, to be better, and I know without you my life would be --”

“Yes!” 

The blurted exclamation escaped Shiro before he could even let Keith finish his tearful proposal. He had to say it. He had to say it  _ now _ . 

Keith blinked once, twice, and to the dismay of the crowd, cut himself off there. He took Shiro’s offered left hand and slid the ring on, finding it a perfect fit. They embraced and shared a quick, passionate kiss to the sound of cheers, and eventually, mindful coughing. 

“I can’t believe you beat me to the punch.” Shiro whispered. The weight of the ring on his finger was unusual but welcome. He wanted to return the favor, and dug his own black velvet box from his pocket. It would have been perfect if Shiro had managed to kneel, it really would have, but Keith blurted out his affirmation too fast too. 

“Let me kneel, Keith!” 

Keith couldn’t help his answering laugh and shook his hand at Shiro in petulant command. Shiro smiled fondly, ever in love, and hurried to do as requested, quick to bring Keith’s hand up for a kiss when he found him still trembling. There would be time for soothing assurances and kisses later -- for now, they both turned to the  _ Black Lion  _ with a renewed resolve. 

 

...

 

The elongated gait of  _ Black  _ was enough to startle a laugh from Shiro -- Keith answered with a laugh of his own, and demanded they go even faster. They had entered with a Neural Handshake unlike any other, shook off the dredges of memories, and launched themselves out of the hangar. Now here they were, letting  _ Black  _ have a field day in the sandbar of the pier. 

Shiro was vaguely aware of the crowds of people watching from the coast and the crew awaiting their return to base -- but Coran wasn’t requesting they return just yet, so he shot Keith a shit-eating grin and maneuvered  _ Black  _ into a lunging jump. Some part of her toe hit a gap in the sandbar and threatened to tip her over onto her knees, but --

A cold line broke through Shiro.    
  
Without even turning to Keith, he knew he had felt it too.

They both twisted their controls up, hands to the stars, and  _ Black  _ roared in approval.

In the span of a breath, the shield at  _ Black’s  _ back split into two and dropped, lower and lower, rows of blue illuminated wings brushing under the waves of the sea. People onshore screamed with a mix of confusion and awe, watching as the ocean beneath  _ Black  _ ripped open under the wings’ jet thrusters. Their Jaeger feed was alive with noise too, but it may as well been radio static -- Keith and Shiro breathed as one collective unit in that moment. 

She spread her wings and took them to the stars, just like that -- until they burst through the atmosphere and lay there, quiet with shock. It took a few minutes, but Shiro was the first to break the silence, saying, “I didn’t know you built wings into  _ Black Lion _ .” 

Keith cleared his throat. “I didn’t.” 

They started to un-strap themselves at the same time -- confident that Earth’s pull would keep them in place for a bit longer -- and met halfway to twirl together in the zero-gravity. 

Shiro clacked his helmet to Keith’s and they laughed at the aborted attempt -- kissing when they had the sense to take them off. “This is unbelievable.” Shiro whispered. “I never thought --” He couldn’t even find the words to finish and trailed off, trusting Keith to  _ know.  _

The stars above them glittered soft and full of mystery, reflected in Keith’s eyes as he turned away and nodded. “I do.” 

“This is going to change everything.” 

“I know.” 

“And we’ll do it together.” Shiro said. “One united front.” 

A shooting comet caught Shiro’s eye and he was quick to point out it’s path to Keith, watching as it hurled fast and burned out into nothingness. He didn’t have to say aloud that the stars had always been an old love of his -- part of the benefit of Drift Compatibility was letting a few things go unsaid. But he still wanted to hear Keith’s soft, intimate voice, so he whispered, “Do you think space holds monsters, too?” 

“Mm.” Keith snuggled closer and brought him thumb up to trace the nearest constellation he could find. “I think if there is anything hidden in the stars, Earth is so small and insignificant we’re not worth the bother.” 

“What would make us worth the bother, then?”  _ Why are Kaiju here? _

“You know all of the Holt theories. They’re more interesting than mine.” Keith arched his eyebrow at Shiro, and they shared a quiet laugh. The Holt theories were born from good intentions, but even Shiro couldn’t believe that the Kaiju were trying to purge the Earth for new alien colonists. 

“I want to hear your thoughts.” Shiro got another look from Keith, and rolled his eyes, adding, “ _ Out loud.”  _

That was enough for the moment. As Keith gathered his thoughts to share, Shiro ran his knuckles up and down the line of his back, gauntlets catching on the armor plating with a soft  _ click, click, click _ . 

“If there is a reason they’re here, Shiro, it’s not for us to know. I do know out of everything that has happened here, in this universe, during this timeline, only the Kaiju have brought all of Earth together to fight.” He shrugged, “Maybe they’re preparing us.” 

Shiro’s hand stilled. “For what?” 

Keith whispered his answer, quiet as if it was a grand secret for only the stars and Shiro. “I don’t think we’re supposed to win this battle.” 

The button on their helmets blinked with a warning -- Control was trying to hail them back to base. Shiro bit back his groan and snagged his helmet just in time to murmur his assent. Just like everything, their time was cut too short. Keith pressed another kiss to Shiro’s cheek before they drifted apart to begin the drop.

The  _ Black Lion  _ fell back through the atmosphere like it was nothing, but the process was slow. Enough that they were offered a few more moments of privacy. Shiro meant to say something, but the slight rattle as they fell back into orbit was making his headache spike into a sharper pain. 

“Shiro, there’s something, I --” Their link shot Shiro with an underlying sense of fear, and he turned to his partner with a furrow in his brow. “In our Neural Handshake, all memories you said would be there -- they were there. You were right. I saw everything.”

Shiro gave Keith a small smile in response, remembering all that Keith’s memories had revealed to him. “It was the same for me.” There would be time later that night to dissect all that he had seen -- now that he knew everything about Keith’s childhood, he couldn’t wait to connect with his family back in Korea. Meeting with Krolia suddenly seemed just a wee bit less intimidating when the image of her kind smile burned like a brand into his brain. 

Keith gave a small shake of his head. No, that wasn’t all. “Did you see  _ Atlas’  _ fall?” 

“Keith, what’s wrong --” 

“Shiro.” His name was so soft, just then, that for a moment Shiro thought everything would be fine. 

 

Keith took another breath, shaky with this forbidden knowledge, and asked, “Who is Honerva?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter @FormSheith

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated and keep my motivation up! Come yell w/ me on Twitter @formsheith <3


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